Sen. Apodaca says study of COPA will not happen in Senate

By Mark SchulmanTimes-News Staff Writer

Published: Friday, December 7, 2012 at 12:00 p.m.

Last Modified: Friday, December 7, 2012 at 12:00 p.m.

A state House committee has released a recommendation that Mission Health’s Certificate of Public Advantage be reviewed by the General Assembly, but one state legislator said it will not happen in the Senate.

“The Senate has no desire (to review the COPA) and will not visit the COPA,” N.C. Sen. Tom Apodaca said Friday, the day after The House Select Committee on Certificate of Need Process and Related Hospital Issues released its final findings and recommendations.

The committee said in its findings that Mission’s COPA is in compliance with state regulations.

“We need to put this behind us and move on,” Apodaca said.

Both sides in the debate over Mission’s COPA — Mission Health officials and the WNC Healthcare Initiative, which includes Park Ridge Health and 21st Century Oncology — are claiming victory in the House committee’s findings and recommendations.

Mission’s COPA was issued by the state in 1995 to allow the merger of Mission Hospital and St. Joseph’s Hospital and is intended to offset anticompetitive practices onto the region’s health care market.

The committee recommended area health care providers and interested parties in the region “make every effort to resolve their differences regarding the COPA (that is regulated by the state) prior to the end of the 2013 session of the General Assembly.”

If there is no resolution, the committee recommended the General Assembly conduct a study of the economic impact of the COPA and the effectiveness of the agreement.

“We are pleased with the committee’s final report and are grateful for their support during this very long process,” Dr. Ronald A. Paulus, president and CEO of Mission Health, said in a news release. “The committee’s work and related review has shown clearly that Mission has been fully compliant with the COPA. The process included a remarkable, 10-year review of all aspects of Mission’s compliance with the COPA, and this affirmation should reassure any reasonable party — once and for all — that Mission has met not only the letter of the law, but the full spirit of the COPA by providing significant community benefit.”

The committee’s findings say “hospitals, health care providers and individuals continue to raise concerns about the increase in Mission’s market power and whether the COPA agreement has been effective on balancing the anticompetitive effects of the merger (with St. Joseph’s).”

WNC Community Healthcare opposes the COPA and sees it as outdated and poorly supervised by the state, giving Mission Health control of the region’s health care.

WNC Community Healthcare also said it sees the committee’s final recommendation to investigate the COPA as a victory for preserving access and choice for patients in Western North Carolina, spokesman Graham Fields said.

“The committee’s decision to continue investigating Mission’s activities under the COPA and consider appropriate changes to ensure a competitive health care landscape in the region will benefit patients, physicians and other providers in the area,” he said.

In September, Mission’s compliance with the COPA was confirmed when an independent accounting firm released a five-year assessment, according to Mission officials. Dixon Hughes Goodman LLP was retained by the state to assess and issue a report of findings on Mission’s compliance with the COPA from 2007-2011.

<p>A state House committee has released a recommendation that Mission Health's Certificate of Public Advantage be reviewed by the General Assembly, but one state legislator said it will not happen in the Senate. </p><p>“The Senate has no desire (to review the COPA) and will not visit the COPA,” N.C. Sen. Tom Apodaca said Friday, the day after The House Select Committee on Certificate of Need Process and Related Hospital Issues released its final findings and recommendations.</p><p>The committee said in its findings that Mission's COPA is in compliance with state regulations.</p><p>“We need to put this behind us and move on,” Apodaca said.</p><p>Both sides in the debate over Mission's COPA — Mission Health officials and the WNC Healthcare Initiative, which includes Park Ridge Health and 21st Century Oncology — are claiming victory in the House committee's findings and recommendations.</p><p>Mission's COPA was issued by the state in 1995 to allow the merger of Mission Hospital and St. Joseph's Hospital and is intended to offset anticompetitive practices onto the region's health care market.</p><p>The committee recommended area health care providers and interested parties in the region “make every effort to resolve their differences regarding the COPA (that is regulated by the state) prior to the end of the 2013 session of the General Assembly.” </p><p>If there is no resolution, the committee recommended the General Assembly conduct a study of the economic impact of the COPA and the effectiveness of the agreement.</p><p>“We are pleased with the committee's final report and are grateful for their support during this very long process,” Dr. Ronald A. Paulus, president and CEO of Mission Health, said in a news release. “The committee's work and related review has shown clearly that Mission has been fully compliant with the COPA. The process included a remarkable, 10-year review of all aspects of Mission's compliance with the COPA, and this affirmation should reassure any reasonable party — once and for all — that Mission has met not only the letter of the law, but the full spirit of the COPA by providing significant community benefit.”</p><p>The committee's findings say “hospitals, health care providers and individuals continue to raise concerns about the increase in Mission's market power and whether the COPA agreement has been effective on balancing the anticompetitive effects of the merger (with St. Joseph's).”</p><p>WNC Community Healthcare opposes the COPA and sees it as outdated and poorly supervised by the state, giving Mission Health control of the region's health care.</p><p>WNC Community Healthcare also said it sees the committee's final recommendation to investigate the COPA as a victory for preserving access and choice for patients in Western North Carolina, spokesman Graham Fields said.</p><p>“The committee's decision to continue investigating Mission's activities under the COPA and consider appropriate changes to ensure a competitive health care landscape in the region will benefit patients, physicians and other providers in the area,” he said.</p><p>In September, Mission's compliance with the COPA was confirmed when an independent accounting firm released a five-year assessment, according to Mission officials. Dixon Hughes Goodman LLP was retained by the state to assess and issue a report of findings on Mission's compliance with the COPA from 2007-2011.</p><p>Reach Schulman at 828-694-7890 or mark.schulman@blueridgenow.com.</p>